What Makes a Proper Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea is not a meal so much as a rhythm. It arrives in three small acts — savoury, scones, sweet — and the pleasure comes from that order as much as from any single item. The mistake most home cooks make is trying to do too much. A generous afternoon tea for six needs no more than four sandwich fillings, two sorts of scone and three small sweets. Anything beyond that and you will be too tired to sit down and enjoy it.

As a rough guide, allow three sandwiches, two scones and three small sweet things per person, plus plenty of tea. That looks skimpy written down and feels lavish on the plate, because everything is cut small and eaten slowly.

Traditionally it lands around four o'clock, filling the gap between a light lunch and a late dinner. In practice, any time after two o'clock will do, provided nobody has eaten a large meal an hour before.

The Savoury Layer: Sandwiches Done Properly

The bottom tier is your foundation, and it should be the most savoury and least sweet thing on the table. Use a good white bloomer for half the sandwiches and a light wholemeal or granary for the rest — variety matters more than novelty.

• Cucumber: slice thinly, salt the slices on kitchen paper for ten minutes, then pat dry. Butter the bread generously so it does not go soggy.
• Smoked salmon: a thin scrape of cream cheese, a squeeze of lemon, a few snips of dill. Nothing more.
• Egg mayonnaise: keep the mayonnaise modest, season well, and finish with mustard cress.
• Ham: good cooked ham with a little English mustard or piccalilli, sliced thinly enough to bite through.

Butter both slices of bread, right to the edges — this is what stops the filling bleeding through. Cut the crusts off after assembly, then cut each sandwich into fingers or neat triangles. Keep them covered with a slightly damp tea towel or cling film in the fridge until the last moment, and never assemble them more than three hours ahead.

Scones: The Heart of the Table

If you get one thing exactly right, make it the scone. For eight to ten scones, rub 350g self-raising flour, 85g cold butter, one teaspoon of baking powder, 30g caster sugar and a pinch of salt together until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add 175ml of milk with a squeeze of lemon stirred in, bring it together with a knife, then turn out and pat — do not knead — to about 2.5cm thick.

Cut with a 6cm cutter and press straight down without twisting, which is what gives you a proper rise. Brush the tops with milk and bake at 220°C fan (200°C fan-assisted, gas mark 7) for 12 to 14 minutes until golden. They are at their best warm, split and eaten within an hour or two.

Cream or jam first is a regional argument, not a culinary one. In Devon the cream goes on first; in Cornwall the jam does. Either way, use clotted cream in thick spoonfuls and a good raspberry or strawberry jam.

Small Sweets and a Little Restraint

The top tier is where people over-cater. Aim for things that can be eaten in two bites and that offer contrast — something sharp, something creamy, something crisp, something chocolatey. A workable trio:

• Lemon curd tartlets in small shortcrust cases, sharp enough to cut through the cream.
• Mini Victoria sponges filled with jam and whipped cream, baked in a shallow tray and cut into squares.
• Chocolate ganache tartlets or plain shortbread fingers for those who find fruit puddings too much.

Add a bowl of strawberries or raspberries if you like, but keep sweet things small. The point is that guests take one of each and come back for more if they want to.

The Tea Itself

A strong English breakfast blend suits the food best, with Earl Grey or a lighter Darjeeling alongside for anyone who prefers it. Offer one caffeine-free option — peppermint or rooibos — and a jug of cold water.

Warm the pot first with a splash of hot water, then empty it. Use one heaped teaspoon of loose leaves per person, plus one for the pot, and water just off the boil for black tea. Let it stand three to four minutes, no longer than five. Strain into cups as you pour rather than leaving leaves stewing. If you are using bags, two per pot is usually about right.

A Plan for the Day

Spread the work across the morning and it becomes a pleasure rather than a scramble.

• Two days ahead: bake tartlet cases, shortbread and any sponge layers. Store in airtight tins.
• The day before: make lemon curd, sandwich fillings and ganache. Keep everything chilled and separate.
• The morning of: bake scones, fill the cakes, slice cucumber and salt it.
• An hour before: assemble sandwiches, arrange the tiers, boil the kettle and set the table.

Lay the table simply — a clean cloth, small plates, napkins, butter knives and a dish of jam and cream within reach. Warm the pot again just before guests sit down. The whole thing should feel relaxed, slightly generous and not in the least bit fussy, which is exactly what a proper British afternoon tea has always been.